Portable gas-producer for locomotives.



B. Q. P. FOSS.

PORTABLE GAS PRODUCER FOR LOCOMOTIVES.

APPLICATION men MAR.22. 1910. RENEWED APR. 19. I915.

Patented 001;. 12, 1915.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH :0, WASHINGTON. D. c,

- UM E PORTABLE ens-raonucna non nocoiviorrvns.

masses.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented ochre, 191.5.

Application filed March 22, 1910, Serial No.550,918.. Renewed April 19, 1915'. Serial No. 22,497.

1 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, .BENJAMIN Q. P. Foss, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Chicago, in'the county of Cook and. State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Portable Gasl 'roducers for Locomotives, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in portable gas producer systems,and-its purpose is to provide improved means and appliances foroperating a portable gas producer in connection with a locomotive or marine boiler.

In the system herein described the producers utilize any form of hard or soft coal, and the crude producergas is supplied directly to the locomotive from a car containing the producers and most of the other principal parts of my apparatus.

In order to fully explain the operation and advantages ofmyimprovementsl have shown the important features of a complete operative system.

My object is to burn the gas in its crude or unpurified form and the producer can be built with either an up or down draft. .I prefer a down draft and have shown a producer constructed in this manner in the accompanying drawings, and have described it in the following specification. 1 I have pro vided means for effecting a flow of the gas from the producer to the fire-box of the locomotive and have provided a burner in the locomotive and means for supplying the burner with the necessary" ai r to support perfect combustion. Ihave also provided means whereby the current ofgas may be diverted from the fire-box and burned above the car during the short periods in which the locomotive is brought to a stop atstations or other points along the road. r

small pilot light is kept burning immedi-:

ately adjacent this overflow device. The overflow is therebyignited and unpleasant odors arising from the unburned gas are prevented. Each producer is provided with a door at the top for charging it with fuel and for the admission of air. Steam :connections are also made "at the top for effecting the proper flow of steam-through the fuel. The producers are provided with cleaning doors both above thegrates'and below them. Steam connections are also made with the ash pit in order to permit the passing of a current of steam upwardly through the generator.

Although I have described my improve ments as being applied to locomotive orma rine boilers, I do not wish to be considered as desiring to limit their use to these fields, as I also use them in connection with stationary plants of various kinds, such as are etc. i Further objects and advantages of my improvements will become readily. apparent used in heating office buildings, bake ovens,

in the following specification, and the novel elements and combinations thereof will be more specifically pointed out in the claims.

The details of construction and mode'of operation of my'invention will now be described, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which- The figure is an enlarged longitudinal;

section of therear portion of a locomotive and the forward portion of a car, showing theessential features of my improvements and their operative relation to each other.

In the accompanying. drawings I have shown my improvements as applied to a locomotive, though it will be understood that similar combinations of the essential fea- I tures of my invention may-be applied to :ma-,

rine boilers and others.

In the particular embodiment of my vention illustrated herewith, A represents 7 the locomotive and B is the producer car which contains the greaterpart of the apparatus.

which is commonly used in connection with locomotives.

In the locomotive the fire-box 15 circumferential openings 19 for-the admis-. sion of air to support the combustion of the. The current of gas passing through gas.

I 1 9t) The car B is substituted for the tender;

theburner will cause the air to be siphoned into it through the said openin s 19. V This burner is fully described in my application for Letters Patent, bearing Serial No.

5 505,825, filed July 3, 1909, on gas burners.

I prefer to add thereverberating arch 18 to the firebox for. causing the gases to circu late about the interior of the fire boX and to come into more intimate contact with the 0 crown sheet and walls thereof before enteringthe tubes. i

The burner is supplied with gas through the pipe 20, in which is a controlling valve 21 having a hand wheel 22 within reach of th'eenginee'r, a long stem 22* being provided for the purpose of bringing the said hand wheel to a 'sufiicient height.

r The pipe is providedwith a hose 23 and coupling 2st for connecting with the 20 pipe 25 on the vcar,'and a branch pipe 20 having a cap 20*, forthe attachment of a hand blower.

The car is preferably of steel construction,

Y which will'be more fully described later. 25 The pipe 25'leads to the blower or exhaustei 26, which is driven by. a small engine 27.

This eXhauster 26 will draw the gas through the pipe 28 and force it through the pipe 25 to the burner in the fire-box. 30 The pipe 28 is provided with a T 28 which is joined to-two sections ofpipe29 f and 30, which lead through the valves 31 and 32 to the ash pits or lower portions of the producers 33 and 34.

' 35 Theupperhead of theproducer ISPI'W vided with an opening, through which the f fuel is fed tojthe interior.

These openings are provided with suitable i covers-4l and 42, which may beclosed air '40 tight when the producer is left idle for a considerable-length of time. In ordinary operation, howeper, these covers are left open to permit a suitable supply of air. A nozzle-is inserted in the upperportion of the producer, through which steam is admitted above the fire to mingle with the air as it is drawn through the coal bed. This nozzle is connected with a pipe 44 which leads to the boiler of the locomotive.

the purpose of giving to the stream a suitable pressure and volume when it flows into the producer, proportional to the amount ofpressure on; theexhausteri The pipe 44? .55'leads from the equalizer to the pipe 46,

' which in turn leads to the hose 47, the couis'therefore used to drive the engine .27-

A branch pipe 46* having a cap 46*, is pro 65 vided forthe attachment of a pipe 46 C011.

This 50 pipe is provided with an equalizer 45for pits or the space below the grates in the pro- 75 ducers. In these pipes 54.- and are valves 57 and 56 for controlling the steam admitted to said ash pits, for blowing out the ashes on the grates and cleaning the'fires. The ash, pits of the producers arejprovided with doors 58 21I1d 59. I The space i above the grates is also provided with doors 60 and 61. The interior of the producers is therefore entirely accessible for cleaning and repair.

In order to permit an overflow of gas from the pipe 25 during short periods in which the locomotive is brought to a stop atstations upon the road, an overflow valve or bypass valve 64 is provided, which is I connected to the pipe 25 by the branch pipe 62; This overflow valve 662 has the general nature of asafety valve and may be set-to open at a low pressure, so that when the engineer closesthe valve 21' the currentis r then divertedthrough this safetyvalve to the open air. In order to prevent the unpleasant odors arising'from thegas thus allowed to flow into-the atmosphere, a small burner or pony light 63 is attached to the I00 said safety valve casing 6% below the valve therein. This small pony light is allowed to burn constantly anda small flame: is con-' stantlv in close proximity to the outlet from; said safetv'valve. The gases are thereby ig nited as soonas they escape. This flow of gas is only for a short time, because of the fact that the engine that runs the eXhauster is nearly stopped by 'the operator when the gas is flowing more than isjneeded under the boiler. This-usually occurs on entering stations, and because of this fact the loss in fuel 'isfvery nominal. I 7

Inorder to furnish a supply of air for v supporting combustion of the gas when starting the' burner when the'lo'comotive is not in motion, Iattach a branch pipe 65 to. the pipe 20, said branch pipe 65 being at,- tached to such part of the air-brake system aswill' supply the desired quantity of compressed air. This pipe may, beconnected to the main reservoir, or to the pipe leading, from the air pumps to said main reservoir of the air-brake system. The pipe 65'is connected with a smallpipe centrally disposed in the pipe 20,from which the air discharges and induces the flow of gas into said pipe 20, from which the resulting mixture passes" to the burner. 16. The said :gas is mixedwith the said stream of air and together the air and gas flow throughthe aperture in plug "at the end of the pipeEZO. The said mixture of gas and air flows through the burner 16 and inducesa further current of air through the circumferential channels 19. In the pipe 55 l have placed thehand valve (55' in convenient reach of "the engineer.

When the engine is entirely cold or without steam in its boiler, the exl'iauster may be started by another engine said other engine furnishing the steam in a manner similar to the common practice in oil-burning locomotives. 1 I

In connection witlrthe producers 33 and 3a 1 have provided fuel magazines 66 and 67, which carryan additional supply of fuel for use in emergencies These magazines are charged at the top through door-e100, and are connected with the producers by chutes 68 and 69, in which aresuitable gates or valves 71 and 70 for charging coal into the producers. i

In order to furnish su'flicient air to! the burner 16 to support combustion, I provide a flue 81, which I attach to the eXteriorof the fire box walls at their lower rear portions. This flue is provided with adamper, which, in ordinary running, may be opened to the positionshown in the drawings,-

whereby a strong current of air is admitted to said flue. This current of air of course will be proportional to the speed of the locomotive. The body of the burner 16 may be wholly inclosed within this flue and receive all of its air therethrough in ordinary run ning, or take all further supply from the air brake system; i l hen starting the burner, however, it may frequently be found necessary to use a supply of air from the air-brake system vhich can .be admitted through the pipe 65.

I have shown and described the burners as located at the rear of the firebox, but they may be placed at the front of the firebox if it is found preferable to place them there. When placed at the front of the firebox, the natural draft produced by the movement of the locomotive willbe suiticient, without the use of the air flue 81.

The operation and use of my improvements has already been largely referred to, and a brief outline of the same will be here given. It will be understood that both producers 33 and 34 are filled to their capacity with fuel and that the magazines 66 and ('37 are also filled before starting a run. The locomotive operator, when beginning a run, may start the small engine 27, which drives the exhauster 26, by opening the valve. This will produce a current of gas from the bottoms of the producers to the burner 16 in the lire-box. In case the locomotive is not moving, the operator may open the valve to a sufficient extent to supply the re quired amount of air from the air-brake systemjto'support combustion in the burner 16. Theioperator will, of course; open the valve 21 through meanscf the hand wheel 22. The small pony light (33 is startedand will, of course, continue toburn as long as the cxhau'ster. is in action; The operator may control the supply of gas to the burner by controlling the speed of'the engine 27 by means of the smallthrottle valve :He can also regulate it to a greater or less degree by the valve 21. i r M Theigage 4.9 enables the operatorto estimateithe supply of steam that is flowing to the .exnauster engine 27. He isthereby enabled to regulatesaid supply by meansof the valve 49". A relatively permanent regulation of the supply to the exhauster engine 27 maybe effected by the valve 52, while the ordinary control andvariationsof said supplyfor short periods while running may be effected by the, valve 49.

When the locomotive is brought to astop fora shorttime, it is advisable for the operator ,to stop the consumption of the gas in the fire-box to prevent an over-heating of the same and the generation ofan excess of steam in the boiler. The continued production of the gas may be permitted during this short period and allowed to overflow through the valve (S-l. The small pony light 63 will ignite this overflow and prevent the unpleasant odors that would result from its contamination of the atmosphere.

A rate of combustion suliicient to produce the necessary gas in the producers'is maintained by the supply of air that is admitted through the openings 40 in the upper ends of the producers. The production of gas is also properly controlled and regulated by the steam which is admitted through the pipe 4:4:- A steam jet may be admitted to the ash pit below the fire-box as occasion may require. An upward current of steamthrough the firebox may be effected occasionally in order to regulate the'fire.

Each one of the producers 33 and 34 is made ofsuilicient size to have a capacity that will run the locomotive continuously. The other producer can then be disconnected by means of either of the valves 31 or 32 and cleaned or repaired. I V 7 When the supply of fuel in either of the producers is exhausted, the reserve supply in the magazines 66 or 67 may be introduced through the chutes 68, 69 by opening the valves or gates 70 or 71. It is, of course, at all times possible for the operator to observe the supply of coal in the producers through the charging doors 41 and 42 in the top thereof.

By referring more particularly to the ure it'will be seen that I have arranged the various elements in the car B in such manner as to permit convenient access to all of the parts, I prefer to make the car entirely of steel, with the middle portion extendingbelow the end portions in order to provide as 'orderto permit suificient room for the operators to ass beneath them. 1

-While I have described more or less. precisely the details of construction, I do not wish to be limited thereto, as I contemplate changes'in form and the proportion'of parts and the substitution of equivalent as circumstances may suggest or render expedient, without departing from the spirit of myinvention. I

I claim: 7 M j 1. The combination ofa locomotive, a car, a gas producer on said car, means connecting said gas producer with the fire box of said locomotive, means to diminish the flow of gas to said fire box when the steam consumption is small, and a normally closed overflow'valve for said producer arranged to open when the flow of gas to said fire box is diminished. 1 V 2. The combination of a locomotive, a' car,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for a gas producer on said car, means connecting saidgas producer with the fire box of said locomotive,means to diminish the flow of gas to said fire box when the steam consumption is small, a normally closed overflow valve for said producer arranged to burn constantly adjacent said overflow valve. g

3. The combination of a locomotive, a car, a gas producer on, said car, means connect ing said gas producer with the fire box of said locomotive, means to diminish the flow 'open when the'flow of gas to said fire box'is v diminished, and a pilot light adapted to In testimony whereof, I have subscribed my name.

BENJAMIN Q. P. FOSS.

Witnesses 'EDY'I'HE M. ANDERsoN, HENRY A. PARK's.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Iatents, Washington, D. C. r 

